In modern usage, hijab generally refers to variety of head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women as an expression of faith. Similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, and the dupatta favored by many Hindu and Sikh women, the hijab comes in various forms. Often, it specifically describes a scarf that is wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck, and ears while leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has grown globally since the 1970s, with many Muslims viewing it as a symbol of modesty and faith; it is also worn as a form of adornment. There is consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred. In practice, most Muslim women choose to wear it.
Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and women's rights advocate", Cacho's reporting focuses on violence against and sexual abuse of women and children.
Maryam Namazie is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She is known for speaking out against Islam and Islamism and defending the right to apostasy and blasphemy.
Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, author, and women's rights activist. Alinejad works as a presenter/producer at Voice of America Persian News Network, a correspondent for Radio Farda, a frequent contributor for Manoto television, and a contributing editor for IranWire. Alinejad focuses on criticism of the status of human rights in Iran, especially women's rights. Time magazine named her among its 2023 honorees for Women of the Year.
Various styles of head coverings, most notably the khimar, hijab, chador, niqab, paranja, yashmak, tudong, shayla, safseri, carşaf, haik, dupatta, boshiya and burqa, are worn by Muslim women around the world, where the practice varies from mandatory to optional or restricted in different majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Debbie Cenziper is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist and nonfiction author. As of November 2022 she writes for ProPublica and is the director of the Medill Investigative Lab at Northwestern University. She spent more than a decade as an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, and has written two nonfiction books.
Nefarious: Merchant of Souls is a 2011 American documentary film about modern human trafficking, specifically sexual slavery. Presented from a Christian worldview, Nefarious covers human trafficking in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, alternating interviews with re-enactments. Victims of trafficking talk about having been the objects of physical abuse and attempted murder. Several former prostitutes talk about their conversion to Christianity, escape from sexual oppression, and subsequent education or marriage. The film ends with the assertion that only Jesus can completely heal people from the horrors of sexual slavery.
World Hijab Day is an annual event founded by Nazma Khan in 2013, taking place on 1 February each year in 140 countries worldwide. Its stated purpose is to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab for a day and to educate and spread awareness on why hijab is worn. Nazma Khan said her goal was also to normalize hijab wearing.
Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor is a Malaysian actress, television presenter, commercial model and entrepreneur. She rose to fame when participated in a drama queen competition, Dewi Remaja, winning the Dewi Remaja 2009/10 title organised by the Malaysian teen magazine, Remaja. She received her Bachelor International Trade and Marketing education at Sunway University College. Neelofa was named amongst 'Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia' in 2017. Beyond her entertainment career, she has been involved in multiple business ventures and launched Naelofar Hijab.
Mariah Idrissi is a British model, public speaker, and online personality. Idrissi initially gained recognition as the first Muslim hijab-wearing model when she appeared in multinational retailer, H&M's "Close the Loop" campaign in 2015; after which, Idrissi became a leading authority on "modest fashion" appearing on domestic and international news programmes on the subject. In 2016, Idrissi signed to Select modelling agency in 2016 and signed with Insanity Group Management in 2017.
Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian-American journalist, political analyst, editor and host of the Iran Podcast. She is based in Washington DC.
Onai Malik, born Onaza Malik in 1990 or 1991, known professionally as Nadia Ali, is a Pakistani-born American former pornographic actress, who worked as an adult actress from 2015 to 2016.
Halima Aden is an American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA 2016 pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to IMG Models. She was also the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Amena Khan is a British fashion designer, and internet celebrity. She is best known for founding the fashion company Pearl Daisy, designing head scarfs, and becoming the first hijab model in a L'Oreal hair-care campaign.
Saba Ahmed is a Pakistani-American political activist, lawyer, and engineer. She is the founder and president of the Republican Muslim Coalition, former lawyer at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and former engineer at Intel. She has urged Muslim Americans to vote Republican. She supports Donald Trump, but has said she is "deeply hurt by [his] ignorant views of Islam."
Mona Haydar is a Syrian-American rapper, poet, activist, and chaplain. Her EP is Barbarican (2018), and she is best known for her viral song "Hijabi ," a protest song.
Shireen Ahmed is a writer, public speaker, and award-winning sports activist focusing on Muslim women in sports, as well as the intersections of racism and misogyny in sports.
Yasmine Mohammed is a Canadian university instructor, human rights activist and author. Mohammed escaped from a forced, abusive marriage to Al-Qaeda operative Essam Marzouk and became an advocate for women's rights through her non-profit organization Free Hearts, Free Minds. She is a member of the Center for Inquiry Speaker's Bureau and on the board of advisory for the Brighter Brains Institute.
Kauthar Bouchallikht is a Dutch politician, climate activist and publicist. She served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2021 and 2023 on behalf of the green political party GroenLinks. Bouchallikht was the first member of parliament in Dutch parliamentary history to wear a hijab. She is also known for her activism in the climate movement.
The Person with Headscarf emoji (🧕) is included in Unicode 10.0 and the Emoji 5.0 depicting a person wearing a headscarf wrapped around the top of their head and underneath their chin which is typically used to convey a woman wearing a hijab. The creation of the emoji was petitioned by Rayouf Alhumedhi, designed by Alephandra Messer, and approved by the Unicode Consortium in 2016.
